Three days before move-in, catastrophe has struck our new house.

Over the weekend, a plumbing fitting connecting the kitchen island pot filler to the water line had a crack, and developed a leak.  It seems our plumbers over-tightened a plastic fitting and it caused a crack.  The water dripped down behind the stove, and found its way through the rough plumbing holes into the floor-ceiling joist bay below.  From there it spread laterally along the joist bay, filling up with water, until it started seeping through the ceiling of the rec room below, which was filled with many of the possessions and much of the furniture we had been storing on site in the roll-off containers for the past several years.  the paint in the ceiling appears to have held the water in for some time, as it developed into a huge bubble before finally bursting to release the water.

Here is how we found it Monday morning.

In addition to soaking some furniture, four nice rugs were soaked through, and some of the boxes holding our personal belongings had water in them.  A box of one of our daughters artwork from the last several years was completely soaked.

The water spread through about 2/3 of our basement.

This may not look like much water, but just a little over a long period is enough.  The drywall, wood framing, and insulation acts to wick the water up the wall, causing further damage.  The bottom of the drywall is soft to the touch.  in some places, after we vacuumed up the water, additional water kept coming out of the wall for some time.

To remedy this, much of the drywall and insulation in the rec room will have to be removed and replaced, along whit some of the casing.  In three other rooms, the main hallway, the cavity under our stairs, and a storage closet, the drywall and insulation will have to be removed at least 24 inches from the ground and replaced.

It would be an understatement to say we are devastated.  Now we have to enter the dark realm of insurance company claims to get this fixed.